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Day: February 11, 2017

If I find it on Google, does that mean I can use it? The immediate answer should be “not necessarily”. You need to know…

… about copyright in the Canadian context. How many times do you hear people talk about “fair use”. Do they really understand that that isn’t a Canadian legal term for the use of other’s materials? Just ask them what “fair dealing” is and you have a great conversation starter.

Then, send them to this terrific website from the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada.

It’s designed to let you drill down with exactly the type of content that you wish to use.

But don’t just stop at the tool. From pull down menus, you’ll find all kinds of original resources. In particular, this presentation (in PDF format) really digs deeply into the concepts.

Knowing how different types of media may be used is very important and this is a topic all need to address. In terms of students, they need to know where they stand as well. I’ve always maintained that they should create their own content where possible. As we all know, there are alternatives when that isn’t possible.

Most producers of content will show their expectations with respect to copyright wherever possible.